Heat Transfer

S. AHAMAD, M. THAKUR and R. VALLAVANATT,

Bechtel Corp., Houston, Texas

Optimize transient plant operations

with castable-free fired heater
Fired heaters are designed with castable refractory in vari-
ous sections of the heater. A fired heater with castable refrac-
tory requires refractory dry-out during startup. This dry-out
process results in a very long startup time.
In a typical liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, waste heat
recovery units (WHRUs) are installed at gas turbine exhausts
to recover the residual heat from flue gases. Fired heaters are
used in combination with WHRUs to provide/meet heating
requirements during transient operation and/or supplemental
heating. The operation of fired heaters becomes critical when
WHRUs cannot provide energy requirements during transient
operation, e.g., the startup of plant or process units, turbine
trips, WHRU trip or maintenance.
WHRU trips can cause an upset in a hot oil system. This
affects the performance of equipment serviced by hot oil and,
eventually, plant operations. To avoid upsets in the heating util-
ity (hot oil system) due to the loss of a WHRU, the fired heater
startup and reaching its full capacity in the shortest possible
time are critical.
A fired heater designed with a castable refractory has a long
startup time, which defeats the purpose of using a hot oil heater
as a WHRU backup during upset conditions.
In this article, various design and operation optimizations
were analyzed to bring the fired heater online in the shortest
time without damaging any critical components.
An analysis of the hot oil system response and performance
for WHRU failure and the start of the fired heater to full capac-
ity are presented here. A dynamic simulation was developed to
analyze the overall plant performance and whether the system
the plant. The availability of a reliable hot oil system is essential
for continuous and steady operation of an LNG plant. FIG. 1 il-
lustrates a typical hot oil system flow.
In the hot oil system, the heat energy from the turbine ex-
haust flue gas is transferred to the hot oil in the WHRU and
distributed to the process users. After exchanging heat with the
process fluid, the hot oil is cycled back to the WHRUs through
the hot oil surge drum. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a typical fired
heater and a WHRU, respectively, in an LNG plant.
FIG. 4 represents the four operating cases when a fired heat-
er or a WHRU is not in operation. During the “startup” case
(FIG. 4A), only the fired heater is in operation and both WHRUs
are not working. During “normal operation” (FIG. 4B), the fired
heater is not in operation. FIG. 4C shows when one of the work-
ing WHRU trips. Immediately after this event, the fired heater
should start to compensate for the loss in heat duty due to trip-
ping of the working WHRU (FIG. 4D).
Transient operation. An integrated hot oil system has been
analyzed to ensure that the hot oil system design is robust dur-
ing various process upset scenarios. The dynamic response of
the system was analyzed in detail to study the plant’s integrity
and transient behavior during trips and upsets.
Analysis provides insight into:
Fired heater
TC
TC
FC

can proceed through WHRU upsets without operator inter- Fuel gas
vention and without exceeding any key process parameters. Hot oil WHRU #1
TC
The purpose of system optimization is to ensure that sys- surge drum User #1
FC
tem operation and controls are stable over the entire upset
scenario. The system response times over the entire range of
TC
operating scenarios must be able to shift from tripped WHRUs
Hot oil Flue gas TC
to fired heater and prevent exceeding any key process perfor- circulation
User #2
WHRU #2 FC
mance parameters by some combination of automation and/ pump
or operator intervention.
User #3
Hot oil system. Hot oil is the most common heat transfer TC

fluid in process heat transfer systems. The hot oil system is an Flue gas
integrated closed-loop system with heat supplier (WHRU and
FIG. 1. A typical hot oil system flow diagram.
fired heater) and process users (heat exchangers) throughout
Hydrocarbon Processing | MAY 201955
 Heat Transfer
• Optimizing the fired heater design and operation to
minimize startup and ramp-up times. Various design
and operation optimizations have been analyzed to bring
the hot oil-fired heater online in the shortest possible
time without adversely affecting critical components.
• Hot oil system response due to WHRU failure and
the start of the fired heater to full capacity.
• In a dynamic simulation, the WHRU and startup/
backup hot oil heater were modeled, including the rate
of change in heat duty and the ramping up of the fired
heater, along with other equipment performance.
WHRU failure. The integrated hot oil system is like the system
shown in FIG. 1. When both WHRUs are in operation, failure of
one WHRU immediately results in a 50% reduction in the hot
oil heat availability of the system.
Stack
Damper
Convection section
Radiant section
FIG. 2. A typical hot oil heater in an LNG plant.
Bypass stack
Hot oil
outlet
WHRU
WHRU
bypass
damper
WHRU inlet
damper
Flue gas
from
turbine
FIG. 3. A typical waste heat recovery unit (WHRU) in an LNG plant.
56MAY 2019 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
The fired heater is the only supplemental source of heat.
However, it must start up and reach its full capacity quickly to
prevent upsets in the process and eliminate the potential for
plant shutdown. Once started, the startup heater will compen-
sate for loss of heat duty from the tripped WHRU.
FIRED HEATER DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION
FOR FASTER RAMP-UP
As soon as the WHRU is tripped, the backup fired heater
must start and reach full load as quickly as possible. The re-
fractory dry-out and purge time, along with many other pa-
rameters, result in a very long startup that defeats the purpose
of providing a backup hot oil heater. The implemented design
features and operation optimizations to achieve faster startup
are detailed here.
Refractory design considerations. Sudden heat input to
the heater at design rate is not recommended for a heater with
castable refractory due to concerns of refractory cracking. For
this reason, the castable refractory should be minimized in
the heater sections. If the heater is down for a long period of
time, the refractory must be dried out before the heater can be
brought to full operation. The drying out process is important
to remove moisture from the refractory, and the slow heating
process requires multiple pauses at various temperatures. This
process is important to safely remove moisture without damag-
ing the refractory and can take several hours or days.
Refractory dry-out is the biggest limitation for fired heater
startup, so it is desirable to provide a refractory system that es-
sentially does not require dry-out. While it is possible to use
ceramic fiber for most of the fired heater, the various sections
and components in a fired heater require different consider-
ations for refractory design.
It is recommended to have a rain hat designed to minimize
rainwater falling into the heater cavity, and to allow flue gases
to escape vertically when the fired heater is in operation.
Stack. The stack is generally designed with a relatively high
flue gas velocity. Traditionally, insulating castable lining has
been used, but a castable lining cannot be used in this case to
Main stack
minimize startup time.
As the flue gas velocity is relatively high in the stack, it is
impractical to use a ceramic fiber blanket or module due to
erosion; a ceramic fiber blanket with a liner plate (generally
Hot oil
SS-409 material) should be used in the stack. The liner plate,
outlet in contact with flue gas, will protect the ceramic fiber blanket
from erosion.
The stack also can be lined with ceramic fiber with closely
TC spaced refractory anchors, and the flue gas velocity can be lim-
ited to no more than 40 ft/sec at design duty. However, the pos-
sibility exists for loss of thickness due to erosion over a long pe-
riod of operation, so the use of the liner plate is recommended.
Convection section. The convection section is also designed
with a relatively high flue gas velocity, albeit lower than the
stack section. At the same time, the convection section (espe-
cially the shield section) operates at a higher flue gas tempera-
ture, which restricts the use of a liner plate.
 Heat Transfer

A ceramic fiber module with a backup layer of ceramic fiber
blanket can be used in the convection section. The convection
breeching section and lower-temperature section of the convec-
tion section can use a ceramic fiber blanket with a liner plate.
The header box can be lined with ceramic fiber. The tube sheet
can be made of same material as the intermediate tube sheet
without any refractory lining.
It is important to check flue gas velocity in each convection
section zone to ensure that the velocity is within allowable lim-
its for the selected lining system.
Radiant section. The radiant section has a very low flue gas
velocity. A ceramic fiber blanket lining (without any liner) can
be used in the shielded wall and arch. A ceramic fiber module
can also be used in the shielded wall and arch sections.
Fired heater floor. In the past, refractory systems have been
used that include non-castable refractory for all heater sections
except for the heater floor. With further design development
and advancements in heater floor refractory design, a new de-
sign is proposed without castable refractory for heater floor.
The main concern with a floor refractory system is ensur-
ing the strength required for heater floor refractory for building
scaffolding, etc., during turnaround and maintenance. A ceram-
ic fiber blanket cannot be used on a heater floor, as it is unsuit-
able for turnaround and maintenance requirements.
A castable-free design for a fired heater floor has been ex-
plored in detail. The proposed option is a combination of ce-
ramic fiber module (cold face), ceramic fiber board (interme-
diate) and firebrick (hot face). The ceramic fiber module and
ceramic fiber board with the highest density available from re-
fractory suppliers will provide enough strength.
Purge time and pilot operation. The purging of a fired
heater ensures that the concentration of any combustible hy-
drocarbon mixture present in the fired heater is reduced to a
safe level. Per API-560, “Fired heaters for general refinery ser-
vices,” a purge should continue for a minimum of three firebox
volume changes within 15 min to consider the combustion
cavity free of hydrocarbons.
To avoid this time-consuming step and keep the heater ready
for startup, the pilots are kept under operation even when the
fired heater is not in operation. Keeping the pilots in operation
prevents any hydrocarbon accumulation in the heater firebox,
further eliminating the need for fired heater purging, as well
as the ignition cycle typically required before the startup of a

A Fired heater C Fired heater

TC TC

FC FC
TC TC

Fuel gas Fuel gas

Hot oil WHRU #1 Hot oil WHRU #1
TC TC
surge drum User #1 surge drum User #1
FC FC

TC TC

Hot oil Flue gas User #2

TC Hot oil Flue gas User #2
TC
circulation WHRU #2 circulation WHRU #2
FC FC
pump pump

User #3 User #3
TC TC

Flue gas Flue gas

B Fired heater D Fired heater

TC TC

FC FC
TC TC

Fuel gas Fuel gas

Hot oil WHRU #1 Hot oil WHRU #1
TC TC
surge drum User #1 surge drum User #1
FC FC

TC TC

Hot oil Flue gas User #2

TC Hot oil Flue gas User #2
TC
circulation WHRU #2 circulation WHRU #2
FC FC
pump pump

User #3 User #3
TC TC

Flue gas Flue gas

FIG. 4. Startup (A), normal operation (B), WHRU trips (C), WHRU trips and start of fired heater (D), and Ø not available.

Hydrocarbon Processing | MAY 2019 57

 Heat Transfer
420
410
400
Hot oil temperature to users, °F
390
380
370
360
350
0 10 20 30
Time, min
FIG. 5. Hot oil temperature to users.
fired heater. Also, most of the moisture is prevented by main-
taining continuous heater pilot operation—the resulting loss
of energy is negligible.
With these two major changes and many other minor chang-
es, the heater can be started and ramped up quickly.
Dynamic simulation. Dynamic simulation is an effective engi-
neering tool that is used during the engineering phase of a project
for study of plant startup, shutdown, revamp and troubleshoot-
ing. It is especially effective for understanding the transient na-
ture of processes. The capability of dynamic simulation to pre-
dict design limitations within different operating envelops helps
validate the design. Process plants are usually designed based on
the maximum operating flow, a worst-case temperature, etc., but
they are not studied for different possible combinations of these
operating cases. Dynamic simulation is an appropriate tool not
only to evaluate but also to validate such designs. The identifica-
tion of any design change during the early engineering phase can
provide significant long-term savings for the plant.
A detailed dynamic model of the integrated hot oil network
was developed and used to study the overall hot oil system per-
formance. The model was developed in commercially available
dynamic simulation software. All equipment in the system were
modeled based on equipment-specific design data provided
by equipment suppliers. The controllers were configured and
tuned to respond to upset scenarios.
In the case study, the dynamic simulation model developed
was used for analyzing the overall plant performance to verify
whether the system can ride through WHRU upset without
operator intervention or exceeding any key process parameters.
The dynamic response of the system was analyzed in detail to
study the plant’s integrity and transient behavior during trips
and upsets. The WHRU and startup/backup hot oil heater were
modeled, including the rate of change in heat duty, the fired
heater ramp-up and other equipment performance.
The dynamic simulation was run with the following sequence:
• Beginning with both WHRUs in operation at 50% load,
one WHRU fails. The startup heater was initiated
to provide the required heat load.
• Startup heater temperature controller and other hot oil
58MAY 2019 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
controllers were kept in auto control mode. However,
no additional heat was absorbed by the WHRU
remaining in service.
Dynamic simulation results. The sudden loss of one WHRU
resulted in a decrease of the overall hot oil temperature. To miti-
gate this decrease in oil temperature, the startup heater started
and picked up the load, compensating for the heating loss in the
WHRU. The startup heater in auto control mode responded
quickly and was able to rapidly reach to the setpoint tempera-
ture. FIG. 5 shows the response of the overall temperature con-
troller to users. The plot shows that the controller responded
quickly to mitigate the decrease in overall hot oil temperature
and maintained it at a setpoint of 403°F (206°C).
40 50 60
Takeaway. An integrated analysis of heat recovery and fired heat-
er units is crucial to ensure that the hot oil system design is robust
during various process upset scenarios. The fired heater design
optimization is critical to ensure that the backup fired heater
starts and reaches the full load in the shortest possible time.
The dynamic response of the system was analyzed in de-
tail to study the plant’s integrity and transient behavior during
trips and upsets. The dynamic simulation results showed that
the loss of one operating WHRU and consequent drop in hot
oil temperature was mitigated by the startup heater (operating
in auto-control mode). The startup hot oil heater temperature
controller response brought the hot oil temperature to normal
operating conditions within the required time limit for the case
study. The overall hot oil temperature deviation to users was
maintained within allowable deviation from the normal operat-
ing setpoint of 403°F (206°C).
The fired heater optimization ensures that the system opera-
tion and controls are stable over the entire upset scenario. The
system response times over the entire range of operating scenar-
ios can shift from tripped WHRUs to fired heater and prevent
the exceedance of any key process performance parameters.
SULTAN AHAMAD is a Senior Fired Heater Specialist at Bechtel
Corp. in Houston, Texas. He has more than 20 yr of experience in
the design, engineering and troubleshooting of fired heaters and
combustion systems for the refining, petrochemical and LNG
industries. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology
in Roorkee, India with a degree in chemical engineering. He is a
member of the API subcommittee on heat transfer equipment
and contributes to the development of API standards and recommended practices.
He is also a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and
the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Mr. Ahamad has published
and presented several papers on fired heaters and related subjects.
MOHIT THAKUR is a Senior Process Engineer at Bechtel Corp.
He has more than 12 yr of experience in process and equipment
design, engineering and dynamic simulations in the oil, gas and
chemicals industries. He graduated with a thesis in chemical
engineering from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.
RIMON VALLAVANATT is a Senior Principal Engineer at Bechtel
Corp. He has more than 40 yr of experience in the design,
engineering and troubleshooting of fired heaters, thermal
oxidizers, boilers and flares. He graduated from the University of
Kerala in India with a degree in mechanical engineering. He also
received a degree in industrial engineering from St. Mary’s
University in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Vallavanatt is a registered
Professional Engineer in the state of Texas, and he has served on the American
Petroleum Institute’s subcommittee on heat transfer equipment for the past 30 yr.